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Some propose that women were told to cover their heads because of the culture or social norms in Corinth at that time. Therefore, they say head covering no longer matters today.
The cultural view of the Bible is nothing more than a new hermeneutic.
Hermeneutics is a big fancy word for the method that we use to explain the Bible.
The theory behind the cultural hermeneutic is that you must understand the culture of the people to whom the letter was written to be able to comprehend what is meant.
While knowledge about the culture of the time may be helpful in some cases, this knowledge is not essential to a complete understanding of the scripture under study. 2 Peter 1:2-4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible stands on its own.
If information outside of the Bible is necessary to understand what is written, then the scriptures are not sufficient. 2 Peter 1:2-4
Saying that “knowledge” about the culture from external sources is necessary to understand the Bible violates the principle that the Bible stands on its own. 2 Peter 1:2-4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Said another way, if we are required to have “outside knowledge” about the culture to properly understand the Bible, then the scriptures do not supply everything we need for life and Godliness.
This is a fine line distinction that is easily blurred.
In other words, if we need to understand the cultural context to apply scripture, then 2 Peter 1:2-4 is untrue.
There is nothing inappropriate about using knowledge of history and culture to better comprehend Bible teachings. However, it is wrong to begin to implicitly add things to the Bible that are not written there.
The deception that occurs is insidious in that it happens slowly and without recognition that it has occurred. Like the proverbial frog in the pan with the temperature slowly rising, we fail to see that slowly and surely the scriptures are being changed by us.
Initially, the gathering of information outside the confines of the Bible appears helpful and useful. The knowledge from history and the culture at the time seems to aid us in seeing deeper meanings.
Unfortunately, like a drug, this external information becomes “a necessity” for our understanding of the scriptures. We begin to add things into the Bible from culture that simply are not found in the text. The result is that we rewrite what the Bible says.
This is not necessarily done with an evil motive. It is nevertheless adding outside information to the Bible.
We must keep in mind the warnings against adding to the scriptures. Revelation 22:18-19 (in the specific context of adding to the words of the prophecy of the book of Revelation will result in God adding to him the plagues written therein).
Those who claim that we must look at the culture of Corinth argue that the female head covering requirement no longer applies. The practice was only applicable back then.
Looking at the meaning of the New Testament through the lens of the culture at the time allows us to pick and choose the parts that we like. We can discard nearly any part that we don’t like by just saying, “Well, that was back then! Things are different now!”
Using the culture at the time has no limits. It also has no rules!
Anyone can declare a topic as unimportant because it only applied back in the old days, not today.
For instance, the Bible condemns cohabitation of unmarried people as fornication, i.e., a sin. However, an argument can easily be made that our modern culture approves and accepts unmarried couples living together. The prohibition against fornication can be eliminated because the restraint was due to the culture back then!
As I said, no rules! Just eliminate any part of the scriptures that doesn’t suit what people want to do.
If the verses in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 are only related to the existing culture in Corinth, what about verses 17-33 concerning the Lord’s Supper?
Are these verses only cultural too?
Who decides? Me or you?
Remarkably, many Christians point to the second half of Chapter 11 regarding the Lord’s Supper as one of the weightier concerns (and a tradition to be kept with great scrutiny to the details). Yet, the first half of Chapter 11 is treated as wholly insignificant and rather unimportant.
The truth is the first 16 verses of 1st Corinthians Chapter 11 concern spiritual matters, not culture.
Paul does not take a diversion into matters of culture or the recent fashion trends in the first half of Chapter 11 to transition to the dangers associated with improperly taking the Lord’s Supper in the second half of the chapter.
The entire chapter is God-breathed or inspired.
The head covering teachings occur immediately before Paul scolds the Corinthians for the abuses committed during the Lord’s Supper or communion. It is inescapable to miss that both matters arise in the same chapter of 1st Corinthians. To be fair, the chapter breaks were placed there by men, not by the inspired writer. Yet, the remarkably close proximity of both is undeniable.
So we go from saying the stuff in the first half of the chapter is meaningless, unimportant, and trivial to the second half of the chapter where Paul’s message is to be given ultra-high priority.
There’s nothing in Chapter 11 saying the first part doesn’t matter much and the second half is mission critical. Yet, that’s the way we treat the text.
If the first half of the chapter is cultural, then sound reasoning suggests the instructions for the Lord’s Supper were also just cultural practices for Corinth.
Otherwise, the failure to be consistent in our analysis of the scriptures leads to doing what we want, not what the Bible teaches.
Do your own word search in the Bible for a word that sounds like our term “culture” to see what you find.
The closest synonym that I can find to “culture” in the Bible is “the world” or “this world.”
The world (our culture) is constantly trying to mold us, shape us, and influence us to be like them, instead of like the people God calls us to be.
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